Rooftop and Ridge Beasts: The Finishing Touches at the Top

A detailed view of the roof of the main pavilion (minglou) of a paifang. The roof is covered with cylindrical tiles (tongwa) and flat tiles (banwa), with the lines of the tile ridges extending downwards along the curve of the roof. The eaves feature a row of drip tiles (dishui) and eave-end tiles (wadang), each with patterns. At both ends of the main ridge (zhengji) are a pair of inward-curling 'wen shou' (ridge beasts), biting the ridge ends with open mouths. The hip ridges (chuiji) extend downwards along the roof corners and curve upwards at their ends to form 'yi jiao' (flying eaves). At the very front of each 'yi jiao' is an immortal riding a beast, followed in sequence by three to five small 'zou shou' (walking beasts), decreasing in size. All these components are made of pottery or glazed tiles. A small wind chime hangs below the 'yi jiao'. The sky serves as the background. Avoid: omitting ridge beasts and walking beasts, depicting the 'yi jiao' as straight and not upturned, using modern metal roofing, making the tile ridge lines stiff and not conforming to the roof curve.

Translated from Chinese by AI.

牌樓明樓屋頂的細部。屋面覆蓋筒瓦與板瓦,瓦壟的線條沿著屋面的弧度向下延伸,簷口有一排滴水與瓦當,每一片上都有紋樣。正脊的兩端是一對向內回捲的吻獸,張口咬住脊端;垂脊沿著屋角向下延伸並在末端向上起翹成翼角,翼角的最前端有一個仙人騎獸,其後依序排列著三到五隻小型的走獸,大小依次遞減。這些構件全部是陶製或琉璃的。翼角下方懸掛著一個小小的風鈴。天空作為背景。避免:省略脊獸與走獸、把翼角畫成平直不起翹、使用現代的金屬屋面、讓瓦壟的線條僵硬不隨屋面彎曲。